The present invention is directed to a device for aiding a person in skinning an animal, such as a deer. More particularly, the invention is directed to a device for aiding a person in gripping the hide of the animal while the he trims the hide away from the meat of the animal.
There are several ways to skin a deer. In one method, an incision is made around the neck, a portion of the hide is sliced away from the meat of the neck, and the hide is then pulled from the carcass, either by hand or with the use of a hide pulling apparatus, such as that disclosed in the inventor's co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/815,999. The hide is normally separated from the meat of the neck by gripping and pilling the hide with one hand while the hide is sliced away from the meat with the other hand. However, this technique requires that the hide-gripping hand be positioned close to the knife. Consequently, a risk exists that the knife will cut the hide-gripping hand.
Several tools exist to aid a person in gripping the hide while it is being sliced away from the meat. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,635,319 to Gast discloses a pliers-like device which comprises opposing sets of hide gripping teeth mounted to the distal ends of two pivotally-connected handles. In use, the proximal ends of the handles must be manipulated to separate the two sets of teeth, position the teeth around the hide and then firmly engage the teeth with the hide. This process requires a certain degree of manual dexterity. In addition, since the teeth are engaged with the hide by pressing the proximal ends of the handles together, a reasonable likelihood exists that the teeth will puncture the hide, which is undesirable.